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<h1>Three Elephants Head from Zoo to 80-Acre Sanctuary</h1>

<div><div><div><p style="text-align: center; "></p>  <p>On October 20, three female African elephants&mdash;Toka, Thika and Iringa&mdash;made the journey from Canada to California after the closing of their exhibit at the     Toronto Zoo.</p>  <p>The elephants will not be displayed again, but will live out their lives at the Ark 2000 Sanctuary in San Andreas, Calif. The sanctuary is operated by the     Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), a nonprofit that allows abused, abandoned, or retired performing animals to live "in peace and dignity."</p>  <blockquote><span>When an elephant trumpets, or an orca calls out, we can understand the expression of emotion.</span></blockquote>  <p>After public outcry and petitioning, the Toronto Zoo Board made the decision to close the exhibit in March 2011. That October, the Toronto City Council     voted to move the elephants to the PAWS Sanctuary. Two years of deliberation later, the elephants have been moved from their 2-acre paddock to their new     home. The sanctuary has dedicated 80 acres of rolling California hills to the African elephants.</p>  <p>Toka, Thika, and Iringa have joined the sanctuary's resident African elephants Mara, Maggie, and Lulu. The six greeted one another with a range of     distinctive vocalizations, according to Kim Gardner of PAWS. Gardner says that the ultimate goal is for them to become a family but that may take months or     longer, since "elephant time" is substantially slower than what humans are used to.</p>  <p align="center"><b>Like what you&rsquo;re reading? YES! is nonprofit and relies on reader support.<a href="https://store.yesmagazine.org/donate/?ica=Don_txt_SupportUs&amp;icl=Content"><br> Click here to chip in $5 or more</a> to help us keep the inspiration coming.</b></p>  <p>After the move of Toka, Thika, and Iringa, about 600 elephants remain in captivity in North America.</p>  <p>"Zoo captivity is an untenable situation," says Dr. Lori Marino, founder and executive director at the Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy and senior lecturer     at Emory University. "There is a fundamental incompatibility between captivity and natural behavior, even if intentions are good."</p>  <p>While the fact that animals cannot use human language has been a factor in our willingness to keep them captive, Marino points out that cross-species     communication plays a role in the growing awareness about this issue. She breaks communication down into two categories: emotion and content.</p>  <p>"Humans share emotional expression with other species, even if we haven't translated the content," she says. "When an elephant trumpets, or an orca calls     out, we can understand the expression of emotion. We may not be able to think like another species, but as a mother, as a sibling, as a child, we share     emotions of grief, love, hunger, fear and so on."</p>  <hr style="width: 50%;" width="50%"><p><b>More Stories:</b></p>  <ul><li><span style="height: 20px;"></span></li>  <li><span style="height: 20px;"></span></li>  <li><span style="height: 20px;"></span></li>  </ul></div><!-- <img src="0a8b6876649c4fa5afd908039f96aa4f"> --></div><!-- <p><span style="height: 22px;"><img src="faacba9fc33d4065aa08accae03c5ed3">Cynthia Daniel wrote this article for </span><a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/" style="height: 22px; width: 0px !important;">YES! Magazine</a><span style="height: 22px;">, a national, nonprofit media organization that fuses powerful ideas with practical actions. Cynthia </span><span style="height: 22px;">is an education intern at YES!</span></p> --></div><!-- <a href="resolveuid/09c92d667e4129377da366958fbea942">Jane Goodall: 10 Best Things We Can Do For Animals</a> --><!-- <a href="resolveuid/a7c12bb340934fc898e9de5698b56098">"Blackfish" on CNN: Documentary about Captive Orca Whales</a> --><!-- <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/interview-with-cormac-cullinan">The Legal Rights of Nature<span style="height: 22px;">&#8212;</span>Interview with Cormac Cullinan</a> -->

<p>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org">Yes! Magazine</a> at <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2013/11/02/three-elephants-head-from-zoo-to-80-acre-sanctuary">https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2013/11/02/three-elephants-head-from-zoo-to-80-acre-sanctuary</a>.</p><link href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2013/11/02/three-elephants-head-from-zoo-to-80-acre-sanctuary" rel="canonical"/><p>Yes! Magazine is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of ... . Learn more at <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org">Yes! Magazine</a></p><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://www.yesmagazine.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=14239&ga4=G-74QJNNY44Z" style="width:1px;height:1px;">

Three Elephants Head from Zoo to 80-Acre Sanctuary

On October 20, three female African elephants—Toka, Thika and Iringa—made the journey from Canada to California after the closing of their exhibit at the     Toronto Zoo.  The elephants will not be displayed again, but will live out their lives at the Ark 2000 Sanctuary in San Andreas, Calif. The sanctuary is operated by the     Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), a nonprofit that allows abused, abandoned, or retired performing animals to live "in peace and dignity."  When an elephant trumpets, or an orca calls out, we can understand the expression of emotion.  After public outcry and petitioning, the Toronto Zoo Board made the decision to close the exhibit in March 2011. That October, the Toronto City Council     voted to move the elephants to the PAWS Sanctuary. Two years of deliberation later, the elephants have been moved from their 2-acre paddock to their new     home. The sanctuary has dedicated 80 acres of rolling California hills to the African elephants.  Toka, Thika, and Iringa have joined the sanctuary's resident African elephants Mara, Maggie, and Lulu. The six greeted one another with a range of     distinctive vocalizations, according to Kim Gardner of PAWS. Gardner says that the ultimate goal is for them to become a family but that may take months or     longer, since "elephant time" is substantially slower than what humans are used to.  Like what you’re reading? YES! is nonprofit and relies on reader support. Click here to chip in $5 or more to help us keep the inspiration coming.  After the move of Toka, Thika, and Iringa, about 600 elephants remain in captivity in North America.  "Zoo captivity is an untenable situation," says Dr. Lori Marino, founder and executive director at the Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy and senior lecturer     at Emory University. "There is a fundamental incompatibility between captivity and natural behavior, even if intentions are good."  While the fact that animals cannot use human language has been a factor in our willingness to keep them captive, Marino points out that cross-species     communication plays a role in the growing awareness about this issue. She breaks communication down into two categories: emotion and content.  "Humans share emotional expression with other species, even if we haven't translated the content," she says. "When an elephant trumpets, or an orca calls     out, we can understand the expression of emotion. We may not be able to think like another species, but as a mother, as a sibling, as a child, we share     emotions of grief, love, hunger, fear and so on."  More Stories:

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